Arrested contributor gave to Dockham's campaign, group says

A sweepstakes company owner at the center of a national illegal gambling operation gave about $2,500 to a Davidson County legislator's campaign, a group said this week.

BY NASH DUNNThe Dispatch

A sweepstakes company owner at the center of a national illegal gambling operation gave about $2,500 to a Davidson County legislator's campaign, a group said this week.Republican Rep. Jerry Dockham was one of more than 60 legislators who received campaign contributions attributed to Chase Burns of Anadarko, Okla., during the 2011-12 election cycle, according to new research by election reform and advocacy group Democracy North Carolina.Burns, the owner of International Internet Technologies LLC, was arrested last week on racketeering and conspiracy charges in Florida for his leading role in an alleged illegal gambling operation that spanned across several states. According to DNC's research, Burns gave more than $230,000 to North Carolina political campaigns, including to 26 current state senators and 37 active House representatives, according to the group's research.Dockham confirmed Tuesday that he did receive a campaign check attributed to Burns."I did not know the man or know anything about him," Dockham said, adding that he did research Burns to find out what industry he was in.Dockham said he put the check in his campaign account and filed it appropriately in his campaign report. He said it's not uncommon to receive contributions from individuals in a variety of different businesses."Over the course of the campaign, I probably got 75 checks, and a lot of people I knew and a lot of people I did not know," Dockham said, adding that he filed each contribution with the help of state board of elections officials.Dockham said he's still pondering whether or not to donate the amount to charity."Right now, I'm going to leave it in the campaign account and will use it for a reelection bid next election," Dockham said. "That's what it was given for, and it was a legitimate campaign contribution and perfectly legal. I had no idea who he was and that he was in that kind of trouble, but everything was done above board."Burns, 37, and his wife, Kristin, 38, are accused of owning parlors operated by a purported Florida-based charity called Allied Veterans of the World that Florida officials say had earned about $300 million from illegal gambling. However, only a small percentage of the earnings went to veterans, according to authorities.Alcohol Law Enforcement authorities criminally charged an employee of an Allied Veterans post outside of Lexington last month for possessing illegal gambling devices and selling alcohol without a permit.The campaign contributions DNC linked to Burns are at least $60,000 more than the amount previous media stories reported recently, said Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina."We went through the legislators' disclosure reports, one by one, to determine how much he donated," Hall said in a press release.Other legislators who received contributions included Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, among others, according to the group. Both representatives said their campaigns will donate identical amounts of the original donation received to charities.Gov. Pat McCrory used to work for a Charlotte law firm called Moore & Van Allen that lobbied for Burns' company, IIT, until last week, when news of the arrests of Burns and others were disclosed.McCrory, who is not a lawyer and has never filed as a lobbyist, said late last week he had no contact with Burns, didn't know who he was and never performed work for Burns' company. Moore & Van Allen said it had worked for IIT on legislative strategy and media outreach.McCrory's campaign received $8,000 from Burns and his wife last year. The campaign disgorged itself of the money last week by donating it to a Durham homeless ministry. House Democrats said they would donate amounts equal to Burns' donations to charities that help North Carolina veterans.IIT provides licenses software to many video sweepstakes businesses throughout North Carolina, including at least one business in Davidson County.Video sweepstakes companies and parlor operators in North Carolina have been trying to keep their industry legal in the state despite the General Assembly passing several laws to ban the games.IIT was a plaintiff in a case before the state Supreme Court in which it challenged the constitutionality of a recent ban. The justices upheld the ban in December. Representatives of IIT and the Hickory Tree Business Center, near Midway, filed a complaint against local authorities and the state after the Davidson County Sheriff's Office cited the business for operating illegally. A Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit in February.While at least five businesses have been cited for operating sweepstakes in Davidson County, most remain open for business.Law enforcement officials say they are investigating the businesses.Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com. The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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